Kitchen case



O. LANDAW KITCHEN CASE ug. 3l, 1937.

Filed Jan. 6, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Aug. 31, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT GFFIQE Claims.

This invention relates to kitchen cases, and has for its primary objectto adjustably mount a case on U-shaped supports in a manner whereby theheight thereof may be adjusted readily and 5 simply.

A further object is to provide an article of this character includingbendable U-shaped tubular metal supports whose upright portions aresecured at adjacent corners of the article by means l0 affordingopportunity for independent height adjustment of each upright portionand reshaping of each support as a whole, whereby irregularities in asupporting surface at the various corners of the article may beaccommodated.

A further object is to provide an article of this character with novelmeans for adjustably interconnecting the same with a support.

A further object is to provide a case of this character with hollowmembers at the tops of the corners thereof into which the upper ends ofsupports adjustably connected thereto extend and are hidden, whereby theupper ends of the supports are concealed and the corners of the case arecontinuous and complete in appearance in all adjustments of the support.

A further object is to provide an article of this character with a novelcorner construction.

Other objects will be apparent from the description and the appendedclaims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a View of the case in front elevation.

Figure 2 is a View of the case in side elevation.

Figure 3 is a top plan View of the case with the top thereof removed.

Figure 4 is a vertical sectional View of the case taken on line 4-4 ofFig. 3, and illustrating the interior corner structure of the case.

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary bottom plan View of the top of the case.

Figure '7 is a side view of the case illustrating in dotted lines themanner in which the supporting member may be adjusted to compensate for45 irregularities in a supporting surface, and with parts broken away toillustrate a hinged mounting of the top of the case. I

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment ofthe invention, the nu- 50 meral I0 designates the side walls, II thefront wall, and I2 the rear wall of the case. These walls are connectedby vertical Stiles I3 rigidly secured thereto and positioned diagonallytherebetween in the interior of the case. Stiles I3 are 55 eoextensivewith the vertical dimension of the (Cl. B12-1) Walls and are preferablysecured thereto in spaced relation to the side edges thereof. The sideor vertical edges of each wall are each preferably disposed in the sameplane as the inner face of the adjacent Wall, as best illustrated inFig. 3, to provide a vertical guideway at each corner of the case. Abottom I4 is supported within the case by cleats I5 secured to the wallsadjacent the lower end thereof. A top I6, preferably of the configuredsheet metal type with marginal depending flanges receiving a tensioningor stretch- Ing frame I l, is removably mounted on the upper end of thecase. As illustrated in Figs. 3 and 6, vertical pins I8 are secured tothe side walls Ill to project from the upper edges thereof, and holes I9are formed in the top frame I'I to fit over said pins and therebyaccurately position the top relative to the case while at the same timepermitting removal of said top from the case.

A pair of U-shaped tubular metal supporting members, each comprisingspaced vertical portions 20 and a horizontal central base portion 2l,are secured to the case. One of the supports is positioned at each sideof the case with the vertical portions 20 thereof fitting into the frontand rear guideways at the corners of the case. Each Vertical portion ofthe supporting member may be provided with a pair of bosses 2@ or othermeans,` one adjacent the upper end thereof and the other spaced belowthe first at a point adjacent the case bottom Ill, for the reception ofscrews 24. Each supporting member is provi-ded with a pair of spacedbutton-like members 23 at the bottom and opposite ends of base portion2| thereof. The Stiles I3 are each provided with a pair of spaced,aligned, Vertical slots 2t, and the vertical edges of the walls of thecase are each provided with a pair of spaced elongated beveled surfaces2l positioned opposite said slots. The screws 24 are provided with heads25 and mount washers 28 which are pressed against the stiles I3 by saidheads. The Shanks of the screws eX- tend through the slots 26 and thepassages provided by the beveled surfaces 2l, and are threaded into thebosses 22 and terminate within the tubular supporting members. It willbe understood, of course, that the screw construction above described,which is intended to draw the tubular support into frictional supportingengagement with the case, is, though preferred, merely illustrative ofmeans for this purpose.

Hollow vertical members 29, preferably of U-section, are secured to thecase to span the corners thereof. The upper edges of the members 29terminate ush with the upper edges of the walls of the case, and thelower edges thereof preferably lie in a horizontal plane adjacent thelower ends of the slots 26. The members 29 cooperate with the guidewaysbetween the vertical edges of adjacent walls of the case to form hollowenclosures for the upper ends of the vertical portions 2li of thesupporting members.

To assemble the case, the vertical portions of the supporting membersare disposed in the l0 adjacent corner guideways of the case and inproper relation thereto for the caseheight de-l sired. The screws 2liare then threaded into the supporting members, and, with the headsthereof seating on washers 28 at the inner face l5 of the Stiles i3,serve to draw the vertical portions of the supporting members into tightfrictional locked engagement with the vertical edges of the adjacentcase walls. By the use of two or more securing means disposed at each 20corner of the case, and adjacent both the upper and lower ends thereof,the supporting members are locked to the case securely and operativelyfor their purpose. Also, the inward drawing of the supporting membersrelative to the case serves 275 to provide a nice appearing interttingrelation of case and supporting member throughout the full extent ofinterfitting relation thereof, particularly where the support forms thecorners of the case below the members 29.

Irregularities in a supporting surface are frequently found, and a casewill not stand firmly upon such surfaces unless the length of thesupports or legs, in a four-point support, is adjusted to compensate forsuch irregularities. To

that end, the supporting members herein employed are preferably bendablein order that they may be secured to the case with one vertical portion2l] in a different vertical position than the other, whereby said memberis reshaped to position the central or base portion 2| in parallelrelation to the supporting surface and thus insure engagement of the twobutton members 23 of each with the supporting surface. The reshaping ofthe supporting member to compensate for angularity of a supportingsurface designated by line 3@ is illustrated in Fig. 7.

The top I6 is preferably removably mounted on the case to permit easyaccess to the screws 24 for adjustment of the supporting members.However, it will be obvious that the top may be connected to the backwall l2 of the case by hinges 35, as illustrated in Fig. 7, for the samepurpose.

The corner members 29 serve to hide the upper ends of the verticalportions 20 of the U- shaped supporting members. These latter membersare so formed that the ends of portions 20 thereof will be .positionedat or slightly below the level of the upper end of the case Ywhenadjusted to provide minimum case height, and the upper ends of slots 26in stiles I3 serve asstops to prevent positioning of said supportingmembers above the height permissible therefor, whereby said supportingmembers cannot be so positioned that they interfere with proper mountingof the top i6 on the case. The lengths of the slots 26 and of members 29are so proportioned to each other that the lower ends of said slotsserve as stops to limit the extent to which the case can be raisedrelative to the supporting members at a point at which the upper ends ofsupporting member portions 2! remain above the lower ends of members 29.In this way the upper ends of the supporting members are concealed inall adjustments thereof, and the upper portion of the assembled case hasthe same Complete or 1inished appearance in all height adjustmentsthereof. It will be understood, of course, that the vertical dimensionof the members 29 may vary according to individual preference, the onlyrequirement being that they extend from the upper end of the case adimension at least as great as the major limit of adjustment of thesupporting members relative to the case.

I claim:-

1. A kitchen case comprising a plurality of walls arranged with thevertical edges of each substantially flush with the inner faces of thewalls adjacent thereto, a vertical member secured to each pair ofadjacent walls and arranged diagonally therebetween at the interior ofthe case, a distortable U-shaped tubular support having paralleluprights seating between the vertical edges of said adjacent walls atadjacent corners of said case, and a pair of spaced securing meansseating against each diagonal member and drawing said uprights inwardly,said securing means being positioned adjacent the upper and lower endsof the case whereby each upright is maintained in full Contact with thevertical edges of the wall throughout the coextensive portion thereof.

2. A kitchen case comprising a plurality of walls arranged with thevertical edges of each substantially iiush with the inner faces of theadjacent walls, vertical members each secured to adjacent walls andarranged diagonallytherebetween at the interior of the case, each ofsaid members having a pair of spaced, vertical, elongated slotstherethrough, a U-shaped metal tube having uprights arranged betweensaid wall edges to form corners for said case, and securing meansextending through said slots and seating against said diagonal memberfor drawing said uprights into friction engagement with the edges ofsaid walls and locking said-uprights in parallel relation.

3. A casev comprising a plurality of angularly disposed walls whoseadjacent vertical edges are arranged to provide vertical V-shapedguideways, Y

vertical members disposed interiorly of said case and eachinterconnecting adjacent walls, each.

member having a vertical passage therethrough, the adjacent corners ofthe vertical edges of said walls being beveled to provide a passagetherebetween opposite said iirst mentioned passage, a

U-shaped metal tube having uprights mounted in f,

said guideways, and spaced means carried by said uprights extendingthrough said passages and seated against said members for drawing saiduprights into full, firm frictional engagement with the wall edges,the'vertical position of eachL upright relative to said walls beingindividually selected.

4. A case having a corner comprising a pair of angularly disposed wallswhose adjacent vertical edges are arranged to provide a V-shapedguide-vv way, a vertical support seating in said guideway, meansforadjustably positioning said support in said guideway withinpredetermined limits, and means secured to said walls at the upper endthereof and cooperating with said guideway toi form an enclosure for theupper end of said support, said last named means extending from theupper end of said walls to a point below the lower limit of adjustmentof the upper end of said support.

5. A case having a corner comprising a pair of angularly disposed wallswhose adjacent vertical edges are arranged to provide a V-shapedguideway, means for adjustably positioning a support in said guidewaywithin predetermined limits, and`v a U-sectioned member spanning saidguideway and extending from the upper end of said corner to a pointbelow the lower limit of adjustment of the upper end of said support.

6. A case having a corner comprising a pair of angularly disposed wallswhose adjacent vertical edges are arranged to provide a V-shapedguideway, a support adjustably mounted in said guideway, means forlimiting the downward adjustment of said support relative to said case',and means spanning the upper end of said guideway and concealing theupper end of said support, said last named means terminating at a pointbelow the position of the upper end of said support when adjusted to themaximum extent permitted by said limiting means.

'7. A case having a corner comprising a pair of angularly disposed wallsWhose adjacent edges are arranged to provide a V-shaped verticalguideway, a support seating in said guideway, securing means for saidsupport, a vertical member disposed interiorly of said case and providedwith a vertical elongated slot through which said securing meansextends, and means secured to the upper end of said case to span saidcorner and enclose the upper end of said support, said last named meanshaving a vertical dimension at least equal to the length of said slotwhereby it conceals said support end in all vertical adjustmentsthereof.

8. A case having Vertical recessed guideways at two corners thereof, adistortable U-shaped member comprising spaced vertical portions seatingin said guideways and an intermediate base portion, and means forindependently and adjustably securing said vertical portions in rmfrictional engagement with said guideways to position said base portionat any desired angle to said guideways.

9. A case having two vertical corners thereof provided with verticalguideways, a U-shaped metal tube comprising spaced Vertical portionsseated in said guideways and an intermediate base portion, means foradjustably securing said vertical portions in full frictional parallelrelation to said guideways, said tube being flexible to permitVariations in the bend between the vertical and base portions thereof toaccommodate securing of said vertical portions in different relations tosaid case to accommodate inclination of a supporting surface.

10. A case as set forth in claim 9I including means secured to said caseat said corners to span the upper ends of said guideways and verticaltube portions, said last named means being of a vertical dimensionwhereby they terminate below the lowest limit of adjustment of saidvertical tube portions.

OAK LANDAW.

